Chapter Text
"Oi! Rise and shine Mr. and Mrs. Pond. We're here!" the Doctor exclaimed, with a jubilant flail of his arms, from his stance at the controls of his beloved TARDIS, "It's time to go, now let's get a move on!" The Doctor ran over to the bench where Amy and Rory napped, Amy resting against her husband's shoulder.
"C'mon! Up and at 'em!" the Doctor clapped his hands in an attempt to jolt the two awake. Rory and Amy continued to doze off, unaware of the frantic actions of their bowtie-sporting companion and of the fact the TARDIS had ceased hurtling through time and space. After several minutes of jumping up and down, the Doctor decided to take drastic measures to awaken the happy couple. The Doctor skipped off to the pool room, plotting and determined to wake them.
A minute later and the couple was awake and flustered, soaked head-to-toe with water, while the Doctor looked on with an amused grin, twirling an empty bucket.
"What was that for?" Rory demanded.
"You two," the Doctor responded, directing his index finger toward them, "would not wake up."
"Doctor, you didn't have to do that. A nice 'good morning' would've worked," Amy sighed, wringing out her hair.
"Yeah, I tried that. Didn't work. So this is what you get for not being easy to wake up: water in your shoes. Now go get dried off and let's go. We've got absolutely no time to waste!" The Doctor whirled around to the TARDIS controls and began fiddling with the instruments.
"Where—" Amy began as the Doctor cut her off, "Just take a right, turn left at the squash court, go past the room with the red door, turn right, go down the hall and it's the eighth door on the left. Got it?"
Without a protest, they made their way to leave the control room. As Rory and Amy reached the doorway, the Doctor added, "Oh and snatch some sunblock while you're at it. You wouldn't want to burn!"
The two of them turned to the Doctor in confusion, and Amy finally asked the golden question, curiosity evident in her expression, "Where exactly are we, Doctor?"
The Doctor looked up from the dials and beeping lights for a moment, excitement evident in the Time Lord's eyes, "We're in America! The US of A! California to be exact and it's the middle of summer in…" he glanced at a monitor, "the year 2019."
"What're we doing here?" Rory wondered aloud.
"No idea yet, really. I was aiming for the edge of the Hilurian Galaxy; I wanted to show you a magnificent solar storm, brilliant to watch, but the TARDIS decided to drop us off here instead. I thought, 'Why not poke around? Let's have an adventure.' Now off with you two! The faster you change, the faster we can leave the TARDIS and have a look-see!"
After twenty minutes of wandering down hallways, backtracking, and finally getting changed, Amy and Rory joined the Doctor. Since their departure, the Doctor had undergone a most unexpected change in clothing. He now wore a black and white long-sleeved tee, over which he sported a black leather jacket. His choice of pants, a pair of black skinny jeans, ripped at the knees, finally caused the Ponds to stop and question their friend's choice of wardrobe.
"Why exactly are you wearing those, Doctor?" Amy inquired, indicating the tightly-fitting pants.
The Doctor grinned and answered, "Well, Pond, I made a few friends in this time period a while back and I made a promise that if I was ever to return, I'd make a bit of an effort to… blend in. Not quite sure if they'll recognize it's me since I had a different face, but I doubt they'd forget a mad-man with a blue box falling out of the sky," he smoothed the collar of his leather jacket, "and I assume they'll remember this old thing."
"But Doctor," Rory interjected, "You've never exactly been known to blend in. Why start now?"
The Doctor strode over to the swivel chair in front of them and sat down, crossing his legs, "Ah, you see, I wouldn't normally be doing this but these people and what they're doing is something near and dear to my two hearts: standing for themselves. I find it only proper that I uphold my promise." He then began to spin around in the chair, clearly amused by this activity.
"Hey Doctor, what's that?" Amy pointed at an object at his waist, sounding quite alarmed. The Doctor ceased twirling, stood up, and gestured to his belt loop, "Oh, this? It's another part of 'blending in'." At his hip rested a black and white ray gun with an inscription on the side that read "Geronimo" in flowing white script.
"But you never use guns, Doctor. You can't possibly have a use for that."
"This is a ray gun," the Doctor pulled out the weapon and swung it around like a toy, "Oh calm down, Ponds. It's not charged for fighting," he sighed as the couple flinched, "I only have it since it's something everyone's got at this time. It's actually a sonic gun, minus all the shooting, blasty, killing stuff, look!"
He turned towards the TARDIS console, pulled the trigger, and a familiar humming sound filled the room. "See? Nothing's wrong wi—" the Doctor's words were cut off as a lever on the console broke off and fell to the floor. "Ah, well I'll get that later!" he slid the piece of equipment aside with his foot and turned, clapping his hands together once.
"Alrighty, then! Ready to go? Just take some care; I don't know where exactly we've landed, but this is a bit of a dangerous time in history. And, you know I say this often, but this time I mean it: please, for the love of Gallifrey, do not wander off!"
Like an excited little child, the Doctor whirled over to the TARDIS door and beat the Ponds to the handle. With a jubilant "Geronimo!" the Doctor opened the doors and hopped out.
***
Blistering heat washed over the three companions as they stepped out of the TARDIS. Shading their eyes, the time-travelers surveyed the surrounding area.
As far as the eye could see, the barren, wide expanse of California desert lay before them.
Silence.
Amy and Rory each half-expected a tumbleweed to roll by, while the Doctor gazed expectantly towards a sand dune. Sure enough, a faint rumbling barely reached their ears and a huge grin spread across Eleven's face.
"What is that?" Amy asked, straining to listen hear the sound.
"I think it's a car or something," Rory commented casually. Amy gave him an odd look. "What?" he replied with a shrug, "It's just a thing I found I could do after the whole plastic Roman bit." The sound rapidly intensified, transforming clearly into the roar of an engine.
"Yes Rory, an engine!" The Doctor clapped a hand to the back of his formerly automatonic friend, "An engine hopefully propelling a thing that's carrying people who have some answers." The Doctor looked more eager than ever as the engine roar grew closer and closer.
Finally the source of the engine was matched to a car that came barreling over a sand dune, skidding to a stop several hundred meters away. The car, a dusty Trans-Am, that must have been painted in all sorts of bright colors years ago, had since then faded. The only notable portion of the paint job still remaining was a large black spider, spread over the hood of the car, and various words inscribed on the sides.
From their distance, the three of them could discern two figures in the vehicle. The driver looked out the windshield, staring at the TARDIS and then at them. The Doctor waved, yelling, "Howdy!"
"Do you even know them?" Rory questioned as the driver cut the engine.
"Of course I do! Would I be waving if I didn't?"
"Oh I think you would be, "Amy commented, rolling her eyes.
At this the Doctor shrugged and nodded. "Yes, but I really do know who they are. Now hush, fingers on lips, I need to go talk to them."
He gave them a thumbs up before doing a little twirl and turning to make his way towards the car.